Mending
by LorelaiGilmore82
Summary: Post 6x17 She follows him willingly into their bedroom, letting him tug her along and watches as he pulls back the covers and fluffs her pillow.


xoxox

She follows him willingly into their bedroom, letting him tug her along and watches as he pulls back the covers and fluffs her pillow. The room is warmer than usual and her heart melts a little further at his thoughtfulness. She hasn't told him that she has been feeling cold ever since they found her in the woods but of course he doesn't need her words to know.

"Hey," he speaks softly to get her attention when she just stands there, lost in thoughts, "why don't you crawl in? I'll be right behind."

She gives him a nod and does as he suggests, pulling the covers back up over her body as she watches him disappear into the bathroom. She doesn't want him to leave.

It is silly, really. He is just around the corner, just in the next room but she wants him wrapped around her until the terror fades away. The horror of not being able to have the future with him she so desperately craves. The knowledge imprinted in her heart more than ever after the recent events.

And no matter how silly and stupid – he is too far away right now.

"Castle," she rasps out and to her relief it only takes him seconds to appear in the doorway, a slight look of panic on his face that he hasn't been able to get rid off ever since their reunion.

He opens his mouth to ask what is wrong, but all words die on his lips when he sees the lost look in her eyes, the trembling of her lips and in a few quick strides he is at her side, getting into bed next to her. His arms embrace her, pulling her down with him further under the covers and she feels safe tucked away against his broad chest, his strong arms holding her close and caressing her at the same time. She never wants to miss out on this - on him - on them. It is everything to her.

"I love you," she whispers into his chest and feels his lips press against her temple.

"I love you too," he chocks out, holding her even closer. "And I won't ask you not to scare me like this again, because I know with your job … but," he hesitates and Kate pushes up from his chest to be able to look at him.

"What?", she prods gently because they both have been seriously bruised today and she won't let him hide either.

"Can you try not to scare me like this again?", he pleads and Kate feels awful seeing him so helpless. She doesn't want him to feel like this ever again, but he is right. With her job, there is just no guarantee.

"I promise," she tries to reassure him nevertheless, her voice cracking. "Had I known it would turn into this I would have never accepted. I would have come back home and let them handle the situation on their own. You're the greatest thing that ever happened to me. I will never be reckless about what we have."

"Okay," he nods, trying to calm his racing heart and offering her a small, watery smile.

She leans into him then, capturing his lips in a kiss that soon turns desperate as her hands reach for the hem of his shirt and he has to trap her hands to make her stop, because she appears way too frantic to really be in control and he doesn't want to do anything she might regret later. Not after the hell of a day she had.

"Kate," he calls out to her, but she recoils at his seemingly rejection, moving off of him.

"Sorry," she mumbles, but at least she is still looking at him.

"Hey," he reaches out, cupping her cheek, "we don't – I mean I don't want to do anything you don't feel up to."

She moves back into him, understanding his concern but she needs him so desperately, all of him, "I need to feel you, Castle, please."

Her fingers trace the lines on his face, running over his lips before she replaces them with her own once more and he brings her back against him, before rolling over so he is hovering above her.

"Okay, but we'll go slow," he tells her softly.

XOXOX

Castle's lips leave a hot trail down her throat while Kate's hands are fumbling with his shirt, finally pulling it over his head to brush her hands up his bare back, her fingers seeking out his warmth.

"Rick," she breathes into his ear, feels him shiver and that little reaction makes her feel more settled again, like she is finally coming back to herself - here with him and she takes it a bit further. "I still get the font I want if this is good, right?", she teases.

"Anything you want," he rasps out, too serious. "Anything."

"You're all I want," she gives back and he growls before he pulls her shirt over her head and tosses it somewhere behind him and with it all the dark things that are still crowding his mind. Instead he focuses on Kate.

His lips trail further down her body, capturing her nipples between his teeth on his way and making her push up from the bed and into him. He gentles her, pushes her back down with his hand before it descents south and dips under the waistline of her sweat pants, while hers are on an exploration of their own. She finds his firm butt and gives it a squeeze before one hand travels to the front to grab him through his jeans.

"Kate," he gasps and she can feel him grow harder under her hand.

"I need to feel you Rick," she whispers into his ear, "I need to feel _us_."

He knows how she means - so very well. The need surging through his own veins with a force that reminds him of their first night together. He crawls down her body, pulling her sweat pants and panties down along the way and strips her off her remaining clothes before quickly adding his own to the pile on the floor.

He lowers himself down on top of her, his fingers tracing her in the most intimate place to find her more than ready for him and the look in her eyes tells him she can't wait any longer. He positions himself at her entrance, waiting for her to meet his eyes and then slowly pushes into her.

Her walls flutter around him, muscles gripping him tightly and she slings her legs around his back, a sweet moan escaping her lips as he sinks deeper.

He is still, unmoving as he relishes in the feeling of being with her again, of being granted another tomorrow with the love of his life and only the impatient buckle of Kate's hips make him finally move.

He goes slow, pulling out and pushing back in, gentles her with his lips and hands when she gets impatient, tries to urge him to go faster. But he knows it will be better this way, they like it rough sometimes, but her day had been rough enough, he wouldn't add to it. And maybe he needs this more than her after all. He has never felt this helpless before, not even last summer. Paris. At least back then he had been able to go after his daughter, safe her. Today he was only able to wait for …

"Stop," she pulls him out of his thoughts, "I'm here. I'm here," she reassures him and he comes back to her.

It builds slowly within both of them and he knows her so very well, knows exactly what to do to bring her even closer while she is panting his name, pleading with him and he brings both of them to the edge, keeping them there until she looks at him, her eyes filling with tears as she reaches out to bring his lips to hers.

"I love you so much," she breathes and he lets them both shutter, cradling her to him while they ride the waves cursing through them.

Their beating hearts start to slow down and he peppers her face with kisses, kissing away the tears still streaming down her face.

"We'll find a way," he promises her, for the first time addressing the big elephant in the room. "We'll find a way and he will never harm you or anyone else again."

And his promise is enough for her.

XOXOX


End file.
